bottom's up.

I need a beer.

Massachusetts had a proposition on the ballot this election that would have allowed supermarkets to sell wine. I confess that I had not realized that supermarket beer and wine sales are not widely allowed in Massachusetts; after all, I complained a couple of years ago about the wacky blue laws here and how they kept me from buying beer and wine in the supermarket on Sunday mornings. Well, it turns out that the rule is actually something like each major supermarket chain can pick only three of their stores in the entire state to carry beer and wine, and one of the three Shaw’s stores that was selected just happened to be the one I went to when I lived in Belmont. Everywhere else in the state you actually have to go to a package store to get your beer and wine, and while you’re there, hey, why don’t you pick up some Johnnie Walker and Absolut and Jagermeister. And then some Mad Dog to chase it down.

This proposition was actually the only reason I made the effort to vote this year. My congressman was running unopposed; my senator (Ted Kennedy) might as well have been, and Duval Patrick pretty much had the governor’s race sealed. The one thing I could vote for that would actually make any difference at all in my life was Proposition 1.

The week before the election, things were looking good; the polls were saying it should pass by something like 56/44. But then the liquor stores and liquor manufacturers struck with a coordinated shock-and-awe campaign of mass propaganda, disinformation, and outright lies. “Drunk driving will increase.” “Police are against Proposition 1 because it will cause more crime.” And my personal favorite: “Teenage kids working in convenience stores will sell wine to their underage friends.” What? How many of your teenage friends went to parties with a nice chianti? They just made stuff up and broadcast it to anyone who would listen.

And in the end it worked. Rather than being the obvious slam dunk that it should have been, Proposition 1 was defeated by about 60/40. Which just goes to show that a small group of people with a lot of money can lie, a lot, blatantly, and still swing an election. (Wait a minute…this is sounding familiar…) Not that we didn’t know that, but…gees.

So, it’s 2007, we’re living in the most progressive state in the nation, the first and only one where gay marriage is legal… and you still can’t buy beer in most supermarkets on any day of the week.

What can I say...viva la revolution.